Tesla start exporting Chinese-made vehicles to Europe
Tesla (TSLA) began making cars in China about a year ago to bolster its presence in the world’s largest auto market. Now the country is about to become an even more critical part of its global strategy.
The electric automaker will soon start exporting Chinese-made vehicles to Europe, Chinese state-run news outlet Xinhua reported Monday.
The company wants to start shipping Model 3 sedans from Shanghai as early as next week to Germany, Italy and Switzerland, among other destinations, according to Xinhua.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from CNN Business. But Song Gang, director of manufacturing and operations for Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory, called the move “an important step in Tesla’s global layout,” according to Xinhua.
“Exporting to Europe means the quality of made-in-China Model 3 sedans has been recognized by the European market,” Xinhua quoted him as saying.
Tesla’s move may be temporary, since the company is already building another plant in Europe. It last year announced plans for a new Gigafactory in Berlin, which is expected to be completed sometime in 2021.
The company has told shareholders that the facility was about 65% cheaper to build than its Model 3 production plant in the United States. And it is significantly less expensive to build a Model 3 in China than America, said Sofya Bakhta, a marketing strategy analyst at Daxue Consulting, a Chinese research firm.
“Compared with the American version, the production cost of the Chinese Tesla Model 3 has dropped by 20% [to] 28%,” she estimated.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/21/business/tesla-model-3-china-europe-intl-hnk/index.html